Senators Spend August Recess Witnessing Global Warming's Impacts

A number of senators are spending Congress' August recess viewing and speaking about the effects of global warming. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) visited Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park in Colorado on Monday and heard from park staff and scientists on the impacts of global warming.
The AP's Kristen Wyatt reports that on Monday's tour the senators were shown, for example, dying pine trees infected by beetles spreading as temperatures warm in the Rocky Mountains.
National Park Service Assoc. Director for Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Herbert Frost said climate change could be the most "far-reaching and consequential challenge in our history."
McCain commented, "A common misperception is that this is a crisis that is down the road. Climate change is real. It's happening now."
Alaska's Democratic Senator Mark Begich said today he'll host four other senators on a tour this weekend in his state. The senators are expected to see retreating glaciers, forests damaged by invasive species, and drying wetlands. They'll also visit the North Slope to see the Prudhoe Bay oilfield.
The senators are Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who's chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
Image Credit: AP/Ed Andrieski